Mold on sheet rock

My brother had a leak in a pipe under his house, as a result there is mold on the sheet rock in his bedroom. The leak has been fixed and everything is now dry. The strange thing is that the mold only occured in the few small areas that were not insulated. As you can see from the pictures most of the wall has blown in insulation, there was no mold in these areas, but the few areas that did not have insulation had mold on the walls. We removed the sheet rock 4' high and checked out the studs, all were very dry and no mold on any studs. So we insulated the areas and re-sheet rocked. I think this will solve the problem but any comments are welcome.

Mold on sheet rock

Well, OK then; that was a good weekend project now wasn't it? - that is, if you really had nothing else to do with your time & energy and/or are 100% allergic to what you think is mould in there. Because from where I stand, there is no connection between the leak your brother had under his house and what you think is mould behind that triangular piece of drywall in the bedroom...yet, even if you think that was mould, I probably have more mould in my kitchen sink than you have there...

Moulds that emanate from water leaks have been there for a while and are usually coloured: black, grey or sometimes odd colours, and there's usually significant smell and evidence of spreading mould colonies. What you have there would not even qualify on any of these fronts and may - just may - be a spot of mildew - but nothing like 'mould' from a leak.

I reckon you are overthinking all this mould stuff; please remember that there is mould everywhere. Outside, inside, and everywhere there are organic materials that can be eaten like drywall, admittedly. But there are a number if other factors that have to be just right for mould to develop to any extent that would be considered a health concern - and what you have there doesn't even make the charts.

Still, 'fun' for a project, I guess. You don't say where you are located (as that affects the insulation you chose) nor how you treated this 'mould' you think you have - as I trust you didn't just think that reinsulating and boarding up would solve anything, now did you?

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Mold on sheet rock

Without having seen what things looked like prior to demolition, I would not care to judge whether it was necessary or not. Since it occured only at the uninsulated stud cavities, I would guess that it could be an on-going problem that could well re-occur. You have corrected that deficiency by insulating, and my bet is that it will not continue to be a problem. I see nothing wrong with being pro-active and permanently solving the problem.

Mold on sheet rock

Hi ccarlisleThank you for your incredibly sarcastic response to my listing. Wow what a big chip you have on your shoulders. I did not take a picture of the face of the sheet rock but the mold was very thick and black and the room did smell very musty. I was surprised there was no mold behind the walls but the way I look at it, better to remove the sheetrock and check the studs then have my brotherís family get sick. Please keep in mind we are DIYíers and not professionals, thatís why we try and get helpful comments. The labor was free so were only looking at one piece of sheet rock, some insulation, some mud and paint. Thatís a small price to pay for our piece of mind.

Mold on sheet rock

By the way: for what it's worth, here is what I have concluded. The leak in my brotherís crawl space created a large 3" deep puddle just below his bed room. We fixed the leak several months ago and the crawl space is now completely dry. I assumed the cold water vapors rose into the walls of his bedroom and since most of the walls were insulated (I assume with mold resistant insulation), the water just dried up. But the areas without insulation created mold on the sheet rock. Obviously we have replaced the moldy sheet rock and I donít think we will have any further mold problems.

Mold on sheet rock

The puddle in the crawl space could have created a high humidity situation that became noticable due to the lack of insulation in certain areas. Sort of the "perfect storm" for mold to thrive. A couple of suggestions: check the crawl space to see if it is properly vented, and correct any deficiencies. Second, for the future and just as info, whenever you find moldy drywall, cut at least one foot past the last sign of mold or elevated moisture content.